


even better than winning a war

by orphan_account



Series: even better 'verse [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: AU-jim was born deaf, Crack, Fluff, M/M, Post-Narada, Sign Language, Slight Violence, pre-slash or gen whatever u want man, small amphibians, tw: mentions of ableism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-08-11
Packaged: 2017-12-23 02:59:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...is not having to fight one at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	even better than winning a war

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! My first star trek fic.  
> edit: got self-conscious abt the summary b/c i thought it was kinda cliche so i changed it??? yeah

Jim had been deaf since he was born. The doctors told Winona, still buried in grief for her husband, that the disease her newborn son had was very rare. Even rarer, they soon found, he was allergic to the only known cure.

Among many other things.

By the time Jim walked into his dorm in Starfleet, they still hadn't found a cure that wouldn't kill him, but he didn't really give a shit. He had gone through the anger stage in childhood, when a world that could reach the depths of the galaxy and eradicate most of the deadly diseases on Earth failed to let him hear his mother's voice.

They had adapted, as many do, and soon, a young Jim was babbling in Federation Standard Sign Language to his brother, hands awhirl with excitement. 

If he had a problem in class, the teachers were more than happy to help. Starfleet contained hundreds of species, including some who communicated solely through strange-smelling pheremones. So a deaf human guy? Not that big of a deal.

They did always ask why he couldn't get the treatment, though, which bugged Jim-couldn't they just accept him at face value? Then again, by far the worst ones were the ones who made the unlucky choice of thinking they could make fun of him-without getting a fist in the face.

Bones always patched him up after those ones, though.

He was adapting as well, to Jim's clear amusement. Uhura, who had slipped into FSSL swiftly and perfectly the first time they met, was teaching Bones how to sign, too. 

Sometimes he would pause, in the middle of the mess hall maybe, and struggle to remember how to sign something, but Jim would wait patiently until he figured it out, because he always did.

He was cute when he was flustered, Bones was, and it only got worse when Jim signed it to him with a grin.

Not everyone knew FSSL, so Jim had to lipread sometimes, which was pretty easy for him. For the ones who actually had human mouths, that is.

Jim woke every morning as his PADD vibrated, something he programmed it to do specially, since the alarm clock stationed in all of the dorms was absolutely fucking useless.

"I can't believe the kid," Bones confided to Nyota in the mess. Jim was trying to get a cadet to loan him a dollar for a soda a few tables over, getting in his face when the poor guy tried to turn away. He signed quickly, eyes bright and cajoling, then literally jumped in the air when he got the money. 

"You need to be more specific, Leonard," Nyota answered, the corners of her mouth curling up as she watched Jim's scene.

"It's just-he doesn't talk much, doesn't usually have to, but for the disciplinary hearing, he said his speech out loud, still cocky as hell."

Leonard remembered the way his voice had sounded: a little slurred, but clearly confident. Maybe a little of it was false, since he had cheated, as much as he would deny it, and since Spock had been staring at him coldly the whole time. 

But Jim had stood straight and delivered his speech in front of his whole class, bold as ever.

Nyota nodded. "Well, I guess he could've signed it, but he probably wanted to make sure everyone on the whole campus could hear him. Even if he couldn't hear his own words to see how he was doing," she said.

"'Cocky' is fitting," Nyota agreed, shooting a small smile at Bones.

Presently, the man in question was signing something about-Leonard squinted-a 24-hour strip club, oh god-to Gary Mitchell, arm around the other man's shoulders. 

Nyota shrugged, stealing one of Bones' fries. "He's something, all right."

Bones wanted to steal that fry back, but he actually liked the quiet friendship him and Nyota had struck up after the Narada incident. He settled for a glare that he didn't really feel, which made Nyota laugh.

Bones had been in touch with everyone else Fate had thrown him in with on that ship, too. Hikaru came over every week to watch crappy soap operas with him and Gaila, and Chekov was so damned polite he couldn't help letting him join in.

Bones' comm chimed in his pocket, and he pulled it out at the same time he realized Jim had left the mess.

22:34  
\- -> James Kirk  
booooooones we found a frog outside  
its a baby

22:35  
\- -> Leonard McCoy  
why do i care

22:35  
\- -> James Kirk  
because gary and his friend with the purple things on their head are gonna go release it into the wild where it belongs  
and we dont have a car to get to the creek

22:36  
\- -> Leonard McCoy  
jim i am not driving you ten miles to the creek just so you can fuck around with a frog

22:37  
\- -> James Kirk  
a BABY frog, bones. besides, gary almost stepped on it. if we leave it here it'll get crushed. you dont have any classes. pleeeeease

22:37  
\- -> Leonard McCoy  
how do you know i don't have any classes

22:37  
\- -> James Kirk  
i have my sources

22:38  
\--> Leonard McCoy  
oh my god. we are grown men.

22:38  
\--> James Kirk  
ill meet you by the stairs  
gary called shotgun

Bones sighed expressively, grabbed his jacket, then wished Nyota a good evening, before making his way out to the parking lot. 

His car was a beat-up, flaking blue thing that he'd only bought for the times he drove over to see Jocelyn and Joanna, which was whenever Jim wasn't getting into any world-ending trouble. 

Things would never be the same with Joce, but seeing the TV footage of the Narada incident made her realize that Joanna couldn't lose her father. They might even be becoming friends, of a sort.

Alright, buddy. I'll miss you, Jim signed, as Mitchell's friend-Ami, they were called-introduced themselves to Bones. They did this by speaking directly into his brain, by way of antennae, causing him to curse creatively and wander to the edge of the creek, where Jim was being a small child again. 

After sending a forced smile the way of the short, purple-spotted alien, of course. Bones was always taught to have good manners.

The frog paid no attention to Jim's dramatic goodbye. It hopped a little, looking bored.

Jim turned to Bones. "Mission accomplished," he said, standing up and brushing his clothes off. Somehow, even though they'd only just gotten here five minutes ago, he had managed to get mud all over himself.

Mitchell whooped from where he was leaning against the car, and Ami nodded their antennae appreciatively.

"Grown men," Bones muttered on the way back. And although Jim couldn't detect the utter disillusionment in Bones' voice, he offered a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, as he could clearly read his friend's face. 

Though he swore he had seen Bones smile a little at the sight of Jim when they had been on the way to the creek, holding the little frog in his cupped hands, as Bones rolled the car over the grassy fields just off campus grounds.

Right now, though, Bones' face was saying "i need melted cheese right now, or i'll explode", so in his dorm, Jim found a pizza place and handed the comm to Bones, who knew what toppings they both liked.

Though frog-rescuing wasn't much of a strenuous task, Jim fell asleep on the couch before Bones hung up. 

Bones wanted there to be more days like this. Where the biggest problem was whether or not Gary should have paid for gas or not. 

If I'm half as lucky as Jim is, Bones found himself thinking, I'll get that wish.


End file.
